Twins, 8, invent 'wedgie-proof' underpants

updated 2:33 p.m. ET Nov. 2, 2007

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Bully-proof underwear earned 8-year-old twin Ohio boys a spot Friday on daytime TV talk show, "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."

Using rigged boxers and fabric fasteners to hold together some seams, Jared and Justin Serovich came up with the "Rip Away 1000," a pair of underwear that cannot be jerked up to give its wearer a painful "wedgie."

"When the person tries to grab you — like the bully or the person tries to give you a wedgie — they just rip away," Justin explained Thursday by phone from Los Angeles, where the TV segment was taped Wednesday.

The brothers began brainstorming one day after they were playing around, giving each other the treatment. Their mother's partner sarcastically said someone ought to invent wedgie-proof underwear, the family said.

The project got the boys to the finals of a central Ohio invention competition earlier this year, followed by the television appearance.

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